User Management

This guide covers the basics of managing user accounts and groups in Oreon.

Prerequisites

These commands typically require superuser privileges. Use sudo before each command.

User Management

Adding Users

To add a new user:

sudo useradd <username>

This creates the user account but it's initially locked. You need to set a password:

sudo passwd <username>

You will be prompted to enter and confirm the new password.

Common options for useradd:

  • -m: Create the user's home directory
  • -G <group1>,<group2>: Add the user to supplementary groups
  • -s <shell>: Specify the user's login shell (e.g., /bin/bash)
  • -c "<Comment/Full Name>": Add a descriptive comment

Example: Add user 'jane' to the 'developers' group with a comment:

sudo useradd -m -G developers -c "Jane Doe" jane
sudo passwd jane

Modifying Users

To modify an existing user account, use usermod. Common options include:

Option Description
-l <new_username> Change the username
-g <primary_group> Change the primary group
-G <group1>,<group2> Set the list of supplementary groups (overwrites existing list)
-aG <group_to_add> Add the user to a supplementary group (appends to existing list)
-s <shell> Change the login shell
-L Lock the user account
-U Unlock the user account

Example: Add user 'john' to the 'testers' group without removing existing groups:

sudo usermod -aG testers john

Deleting Users

To delete a user account:

sudo userdel <username>

To also remove the user's home directory and mail spool:

sudo userdel -r <username>

Group Management

Adding Groups

To create a new group:

sudo groupadd <groupname>

Modifying Groups

To change a group's name:

sudo groupmod -n <new_name> <old_name>

Deleting Groups

To delete a group:

sudo groupdel <groupname>

Important

You cannot delete a group that is the primary group of any user. Change the user's primary group first or delete the user.